Sardonic Abstinence
by Gaaras-Gothic-Ninja-Sappy-Sue
Summary: He was in adult entertainment. It was as simple as that. No questions asked. But what happens when the red head meets a pestering blond who wants to know everything about him? What happens when Gaara can't answer his questions?
1. First Meeting

**Sardonic Abstinence**

The cigarette tasted bad in Gaara's mouth, but it would have to do for the time being. He had to clear his head- calm down before he went back into the studio. He absentmindedly wondered why he even put up with his boss- that small and balding fat man, who thought everything had to be _perfect_. Gaara couldn't see what the big deal was- what was with the obsession of perfection? It was just a porn video after all. Taking his last long drag, Gaara slowly got up from the small chair inside his dressing room. Actually, you couldn't call it a dressing room- it was more like a box you threw your stuff into while you were inside the studio. Gaara threw the cigarette butt onto the floor, not bothering to step on it, hoping the fire might catch on to something and burn the whole place down.

He walked silently back to the studio, which was only thirty yards away. His hands were stuffed deep into his pockets since it was a bit chilly out. October was always cold in around here- Gaara knew this, but still refused to wear a jacket.

Finally reaching the studio, he was greeted by one of the camera men. Gaara didn't know this guys name. In fact he didn't know anyone who was working on the set. The man in front of him had glasses with lens so dark you couldn't see his eyes. Gaara stared at the man for a second and for a moment the man looked back at Gaara. Breaking from his trance, the red head pushed passed the camera man and walked towards the directors office- his boss. When he stepped into the room, he was immediately greeted with the foul smell of alcohol, cigarette smoke, and five minute sex. The woman Gaara was doing the scene with was in the room as well.

"Gaara!", she shouted, waving to the red head. She was blond and had deep blue eyes. She wasn't what Gaara would call pretty- but she wasn't ugly. Despite that, Gaara still hated her. Whenever he was on top of her she would always get so 'touchy'. She was one of those porn stars who over exaggerated pleasure and moaned loudly and enthusiastically at anything and everything. Right now the woman- no Gaara never did learn her name- was sitting cross legged on a chair besides the director's desk, wearing a T-shirt and panties - obviously ready for the scene.

At the mention of Gaara's name the director looked up and glared at the red head.

"Are you quite finished?", he asked in that accent Gaara loathed. Gaara hated it so much because it made the director seem smart even though he was just a perverted old man who lived to watch and make porn. Gaara ignored the director's question and rolled his eyes.

"Now we're going to try this again.", the director said despite Gaara's silence. He got up from his chair and walked quickly towards the door.

"I'm going to tell everyone that you're finally ready." The director said those words with such disgust in his mouth that Gaara had to resist the urge to chuckle. Instead he simply ignored the comment and followed the director out- not bothering to hold the door for the blond girl behind him.

Everything was ready. The cameramen were already set up when Gaara arrived at the scene. It consisted of a bed with satin sheets and multiple pillows. Gaara tried his best not to gag. The blond women behind him ran into the room and jumped into the bed- already unbuttoning her shirt. Gaara sighed and slowly stepped in front of the camera.

* * *

"Alright. It's a wrap you guys."

Gaara pulled out of the blond girl beneath him. She was sweating and breathing heavily with one arm across her eyes. Gaara rolled his eyes in annoyance. What did she have to be so out of breath for? He was the one who did all the work. He stepped off the bed and out of the camera's range and walked in his naked glory towards the corner where he left his clothes. He started with his pants first, not bothering to clean himself up. He just really wanted to get out of there. Throwing his dark shirt back on, he quickly left the room and headed out the studio.

He didn't know why he wanted to leave so badly. It was probably because of how everything turned out in the video. It was supposed to be a 'romantic' night after a honeymoon - which of course led to sex. Unfortunately, Gaara had it wrong the first time- he rammed a little to hard against the blond - too hard to be 'romantic'. The final time Gaara got it right, forcing his vomit down his throat as he listened to the woman's fake moans.

All in all Gaara had a shitty day so far, and was suddenly in the mood for some strong coffee- anything that would take away the taste of that woman in his mouth. Gaara didn't have a car, but luckily his favorite cafe, '_Quelquefois_', was nearby. The cafe might have just been why Gaara rook the job in this location in the first place. It was a terrible place to work in such an explicit department. There were playgrounds everywhere, and an amusement park maybe a few blocks away. Plus, Gaara hated children, and there were a lot of them hanging around here. Still he chose the job in this area because of the restaurant nearby. No kids were allowed, and they must have had the strongest coffee there is.

Stepping into the cafe, he was greeted with the wonderful smell of coffee. He sat where he usually sat- in the far corner of the room, in a dark table. Gaara loved the smell of coffee. It was childish- yes- but it satisfied his own taste. He loved how coffee tasted disgusting, but still managed to have that wonderful smell.

The red head waited maybe twenty seconds before one of the waiters came over to ask what he wanted. That was another thing Gaara liked about the restaurant- There was always very little customers when he came in after work. The less customers, the faster the service.

"Black coffee.", Gaara said to the waiter.

"How do you-"

"Pitch.", said Gaara interrupting him. "Pitch black- not the '_cafe noir_' special." he said quietly still not looking up. Gaara realized that the waiter was probably new. Everyone here knew Gaara, and they always knew what he wanted.

"Be right back." said the waiter before turning away. That was when Gaara decided to look up. He caught a glimpse of blond hair before the said waiter stepped into the kitchen. Gaara frowned. He hated blonds.

Maybe two to three minutes later, Gaara heard the waiters voice above him. Gaara had his head down on the table, his forehead laying on his arm while the other arm hung over his head.

"Your coffee, sir."

Gaara rolled his closed eyes but decided to sit up anyway. This time he looked up at the waiter. He was male - typical blond hair and blue eyes. From behind he looked like a teenager, but from what Gaara could see in the front, this was a grown man. The blond placed the coffee on the table. Gaara stared at the cup for a while before looking up at the waiter again. He was still standing over Gaara, staring at the red head intently. There was something in his eyes. Something that Gaara couldn't quite point. Then it suddenly hit him- Gaara realized what the staring was all about.

"I don't give tips." he said bluntly.

The blond blinked slowly and he seemed to come out of his trance for a moment. Then he let out a chuckle. It was a low and throaty chuckle and as he did this, he put his hand behind his head.

"Heh...I'm not waiting for a tip." he said slowly. Gaara's eyes widened a fraction at the man's voice. It was a low and deep voice. Gaara rolled his eyes and wondered why he was thinking about something like this when he could be flipping this guy off.

"If you're not waiting for anything, then why don't you just go away?" Gaara said looking away to stare at the window.

The blond chuckled again- that low and slow rumble beneath his stomach that uttered tight and controlled laughs from his mouth. That was when Gaara was struck with an annoying realization. This man was probably _older_ than he was. Gaara sighed, with a shake of his head. The blond haired man still stood over him, with that sheepish smile on his face.

"It's just that...", he started. Gaara looked up at the blond. "I feel like I've seen you somewhere..."

Now it was Gaara's turn to chuckle. He knew very little about where the video's he starred in went, but he knew for sure that someone must've seen him on television, internet, etc. It was part of the contract.

"Seen me somewhere, hmm?", said Gaara slowly, looking down at his cup of coffee. He frowned when he took a sip. It was cold.

The blond haired man nodded his head. "Yeah. . .you look so familiar. . ."

Gaara resisted the urge to chuckle again. He was curious to know where the blond had seen him- even though he was pretty sure it was from a porn video. "Where have you seen me before?",Gaara asked slowly, taking another sip from his cold coffee.

The blond haired man smiled. "On the internet." Gaara nearly smirked. The blond was avoiding the details. Gaara suddenly felt he had to make the blond confess that he watched porn.

"Where on the internet?" Gaara pestered, putting a finger in his coffee and stirring it around a bit.

"I don't remember."

Gaara paused for a bit.

_Smartass._

Sighing, Gaara began to stir his coffee again.

"Really now. . .", he said slowly. He took another sip of his drink and sighed heavily. Finally, he pulled his wallet out from his pocket. "This coffee is cold." he said listlessly. "I should complain about you...but I'm too lazy..." He said slowly.

The blond chuckled again. "Then, I guess I should thank you." Gaara hated the way the blond man stayed calm and collected even as he was insulted. He pulled out a five dollar bill from his wallet and stood up from the table.

"Later." he said to no one in particular, but the blond smiled anyway. Gaara rolled his eyes at him and walked out of the restaurant. The waiter smiled and turned to clean the tables. He paused when he spotted something on the table the red head had just used.

A dark and plain wallet, lay forgotten on the table.


	2. Lost Wallet

**Sardonic Abstinence**

Gaara wasn't particularly angry. He wasn't annoyed either. It was his first time ever misplacing anything in a long time. So why his wallet? Was he not focused enough to grab it before leaving the café? What was on his mind that made him forget? Was he that distracted by the blond to actually leave the restaurant without it? He wondered. Gaara checked the clock that lay on a desk beside his bed. It was 12:15. If he didn't get ready now, he would be late for work. But what for? He couldn't get inside the studio without his I.D. Which was in his wallet.

A chuckle passed the redhead's lips. Losing his wallet had its good sides after all. Losing it was an excellent excuse not to go to work. He needed a break anyway. He was getting fed up with his boss's constant nagging and complaints about his lack of imagination, and TPM's.

As much as the idea of sleeping in appealed to Gaara, he knew he had to get his wallet back. He knew he left it at the café, because he bought coffee with money from his wallet, and he remembered his pockets feeling a bit empty as he exited the restaurant. If all went well, his wallet would be at the hands of the owner, or better yet, still on the table.

Then something else dawned on the red head. What about the blonde man- the waiter? Surely, he would have cleaned the tables when Gaara left. Did he keep the wallet? Give it to the manager? Throw it away?

All this thinking made Gaara want to go back to sleep, but he resisted the urge and instead stood up slowly from the bed. He lived in a large apartment- it was a duplex. It was meant to house two families, but for some reason, the upper part of it stayed vacant, leaving Gaara with a fairly large place- attic and basement included.

He took a quick cold shower. He didn't take warm showers because it made him feel uncomfortable. It was too relaxing, too soothing. If someone were to sneak up on him while he was taking a shower such as that, he would undoubtedly be unprepared. It wasn't the same with cold showers. When you took cold showers, you were constantly on alert, sticking to the task at hand- getting clean. With warm showers you could easily lose yourself when you were comfortable, and sometimes spend a long time doing nothing, and before you knew it, someone would be outside your bathroom door with a knife or a gun and you wouldn't even know it.

Gaara chuckled to himself. He acquired this strange sense of paranoia four years ago. He didn't know where it came from, how it came to be, but it was how he lived his life now. It was only a slight case, but it affected him in some ways. He wanted to know why this was happening to him, why he acted in certain ways, but ever since he left the hospital…

The redhead shut off the water suddenly, and stepped out of the tub to grab a towel. He didn't want to plague himself with such thoughts, not now when he had something important to do. He had to find his wallet.

He wore plain clothes, like he always did. A loose gray shirt made of a soft, warm material, and tight dark pants hugged his legs. He took a jacket with him, not really in the mood to fight the cold today, and took a quick look around his apartment before stepping out and locking the door.

* * *

Upon arriving the cafe, he was annoyed to find it packed with people. They were obviously there for their morning coffee. He looked around for the blonde waiter that served him the day before and spotted him almost immediately. He was smiling down at a table with four women. All of them looked up at him with wide smiles and blushing faces. The blonde took notes down on a pad and beamed another smile at the women. From where the redhead was standing, he could see the girls sighing romantically as the blonde bowed to them and walked away. They were flirting with him, Gaara concluded.

He was glad that his usual seat in the back of the restaurant wasn't taken and sat there waiting for someone to address him. Preferably the blonde waiter. He got his wish when he saw the blonde strolling over to his table with a wide smile and a note pad open.

"What can I get you, si-"

"My wallet." Gaara said, holding his hand out.

The blonde chuckled again. Gaara frowned.

"I don't have it with me..." the waiter said looking at his watch. "It's back at my place."

Gaara looked at the him with slight incredulity. "What's my wallet doing at your place?"

The blonde smiled at Gaara. "Well I asked around and the others said that you only come here Mondays and Saturdays during the evening, so I figured I would bring it then-"

"You thought I would wait a week to get my wallet back because I only come on-"

Gaara stopped short and looked away from the blonde. He wouldn't get angry. He refused to get angry. He would allow himself to be annoyed but that was it. Why didn't the waiter just give it to the manager? And that smile- Christ, the smile. Why was he always smiling?

"Did you having something important in there that you need right away?" said the blonde noting the look on Gaara's face. "Because I only live fifteen minutes away-"

"It's fine." Gaara said standing up suddenly. "I'll come back another time."

The smile vanished from the blonde's face and he grabbed Gaara's arm before he could go any further. "Wait here." he said seriously before disappearing behind curtains in the back of the restaurant. Gaara frowned at the blonde's retreating back. It was the second time that week that he was looking at that blonde tuff of hair oozing out of a section of the working cap.

They irked him. Blondes. He didn't even know why he hated them. Probably because of all the blondes he had to work with...They were annoying chatter boxes with no manners and so proud of their figure that it disgusted him. Skinny, curvy, supposedly sexy bodies. He hated it. Sometimes he wondered if he would have a better time in the obese department of the business...

Gaara smiled at his little joke. Look at him- contemplating a transfer from his own department to the obese department. He twitched a bit when he realized he wouldn't mind. In that department he would be faced with low self esteem women who have sunken low enough to enter such an awful field where they would be humiliated and scarred, yet still appreciated and loved by millions of viewers.

But then again he could be assigned with a fat blonde. He shivered. _God_. He'd stick with his own field.

Seeming to wake up from the contemplation in his mind, Gaara looked around the cafe. What the hell was he still doing here? Oh, right. That waiter. Why was Gaara waiting for him? He should've left a long time ago.

He was turning to leave, when he saw the blonde idiot come through the curtains again. He wasn't wearing the uniform anymore. He wore a gray turtle neck that was probably one inch shy from his chin, and a pair of dark navy blue jeans, which Gaara was sure he had on before, but didn't notice because of the sea green apron that covered him before.

Gaara didn't show his confusion when the blonde came out of the room, nor did he protest when he found himself being pulled out of the restaurant and into the cold morning air. It was only when he found himself standing in front of the blonde's car did he register that fact that the man was speaking to him.

"...I know how you must feel, and I hope I didn't cause you any trouble because I-"

Gaara looked up.

"What?"

The man chuckled. "Trouble. I hope I didn't cause you any trouble." He said smirking. He knew Gaara wasn't listening. "You know...taking you wallet to my place and all..." he was speaking lowly as if Gaara was a retard. The red head scowled.

"It's fine."

"I'm not inconveniencing you am I?" asked the blonde. "Do you have somewhere to be?"

Yes. Work. "No." Gaara answered.

The blonde smiled. "Good. Then let's go." He got into the car. Gaara hesitated before giving in and getting into the car.

He vaguely remembered something that was told to him a long time ago...Something about not getting in a car with strangers. But oh, well. What was this man going to do? Rape him? Gaara turned to face the waiter in question. The blonde was smirking at him.

Gaara turned away quickly. The blonde chuckled that low chuckle again. Gaara scowled and turned to the window.

"The name's Naruto by the way."

Gaara wondered if he should tell the man his real name. But what good would it do not to? The man had his wallet.

"Gaara." Gaara said quietly.

"Gaara..." The blonde said slowly. Gaara shook a bit; the blonde said his name like he was a damn experiment.

There was silence in the car for the first few minutes. Gaara refused to look at Naruto, and the blonde didn't speak. Gaara liked it this way. After a while, the awkward air escaped him and he was able to feel comfort in the vehicle. It was a nice car- luxurious, it seemed. Leather seats, beige interior, and a heater that he would kill to get in his freezing apartment. He relaxed against the door and closed his eyes.

"It's a fifteen minute ride, Gaara. The least we could do is talk."

Gaara frowned. "I don't want to talk to you."

Another chuckle. Gaara's frown deepened. Did the guy think everything was funny? He turned to face him and was surprised to see him facing his way as well. The blonde smiled. Gaara turned away again.

"I'm sorry." the red head said quietly. "I shouldn't have snapped at you."

Another chuckle. Deeper this time. Lower...Smoother. "Don't worry about it. I get it all the time."

Gaara bet he did.

"So, Gaara,"

When did the waiter feel it was appropriate to use his name so loosely?

"...what do you do?"

"Women." he answered plainly.

Naruto turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "Really." he said. He looked back on the road and a small frown adorned his face. "Are you very... particular about that?" Gaara raised an eyebrow, but then rolled his eyes when the blonde chuckled again. "I meant what you do for a living." the blonde confirmed.

"And I told you what I do." he answered. He contemplated telling Naruto the whole story and decided it didn't matter. "I'm a porn star."

The car stopped abruptly with a large screech and Gaara grabbed a hold of the arms rests quickly. When he turned to the blonde with a glare and a look of incredulity he saw that the blonde was laughing- again.

Gaara swore under his breath when the blonde turned to look at him. 'What the fuck?' he mouthed to the blonde; his voice seemed to fly right out of him.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "We're here." he said and placed his hands on the wheel so he could make a turn towards a parking spot in front of a very tall building.

When they parked, the blonde took the keys from the ignition and opened his car door. "Come on." he said with that same smile. "My apartment is on the tenth floor." Gaara glared childishly when Naruto turned around before getting out of the car. He slammed the door hard and was annoyed when the blonde made no reaction. With the the red head lagging behind a bit, they walked inside the large building and stepped in front of the elevator. Gaara crossed his arms and huffed quietly. What the hell was he doing here?

"Wow." the blonde said suddenly. "I would've never guessed."

Gaara turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

"I've never seen- Well I have _seen, _but I've never met one before..." the blonde said shaking his head with a big smile.

Oh. He was talking about his 'occupation'. Gaara nodded his head and looked away. "I get that all the time." he said. It was a lie. He never told anyone what he did. He wasn't planning on keeping it a secret or anything. The topic just never came up with the people he spoke with. He had no idea why he told the blonde, though. It wasn't any of his business anyway.

The elevator doors opened and two women came out. One smiled at Naruto and the other pushed passed Gaara. Gaara rolled his eyes and stepped inside the elevator. Naruto followed shorty, not seeming to be in a rush, and pressed the button to the tenth floor.

They got off less than a minute later and Gaara followed Naruto into an apartment down the hall. The building was too fancy for Gaara's taste. They had a freaking red carpet, there was vase of flowers in the damn elevator, elevator music rang through the hallways, a digital clock on top of each apartment door. Gaara rolled his eyes. Who was this guy trying to impress?

When they stepped into Naruto's apartment down the hall, Gaara's eyes widened a bit. Books. They were everywhere. Some were sprawled open, others were piled on top of each other.

"Sorry, about the mess." Naruto said. "I wasn't expecting company.

Gaara walked around the apartment warily. It was definitely higher class than his little duplex, and...it was warm. Gaara felt himself become comfortable- just like he did in the man's car.

"So...what kind of...you know." Another chuckle.

Gaara raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"Any particular type of women?" Naruto elaborated. "Busty blonde's? Dirty bookworms? Trannies?"

Gaara's eyes twitched at the last suggestion. "You seem to know a lot about this field." Gaara retorted lamely.

Naruto shrugged. "Everyone's been there at one point..." he trailed off and looked at Gaara with a small glint in his yes. Gaara tuned away. Naruto chuckled. "Wow. I can't believe it. Porn star." Another chuckle- "What's it like? The ultimate gig."

Gaara shrugged. "It really isn't." he said walking around the place. Naruto turned on a light and Gaara watched as the entire apartment came to view. It was nicer with the light on. The books just seemed like decorations now- all of them were big text books, with no pictures in the front cover. There was a desk with a small picture frame. Gaara's eyes widened only slightly at the picture.

"How's that?" Naruto asked. "Your job is having to have sex with women." Naruto said- he wasn't looking at Gaara.

Gaara was still looking at the picture. He couldn't take his eyes off it. "I-it isn't what it's cracked up to be." Gaara cursed himself when he stuttered. "All you get is pay checks and cramps."

Naruto let another chuckle. "What don't you like about it?"

Gaara blinked. "Everything."

Naruto grinned. "What don't you like the most?"

"Giving and getting head."

This time Naruto laughed- not the throaty chuckle but a full blown laugh. "That's a first. What don't you like about it?"

Gaara picked up the picture frame and turned to look at Naruto who was still looking through his stuff. "Well...at the very least, I just don't like the way it tastes. And the women I work with are such..."

"Sluts?"

"For lack of better word."

"And getting head?"

Gaara shrugged." I just don't like the feeling of someone else having control of my penis."

Another throaty chuckle. "Interesting. Ah- found your wallet." Naruto looked up and hesitated when he saw Gaara holding the picture frame.

Gaara put the frame back down, and looked everywhere but in Naruto's eyes.

He heard Naruto chuckle. "That picture was taken a while ago..."

Gaara dared to look at the blonde. He backed away slightly when he realized that Naruto was walking towards him. The blonde picked up the picture from the desk at smiled at it.

It was bright and sunny in the picture. Naruto was grinning widely at the camera while another person- a man- leaned over to kiss Naruto on the side of his mouth. The man's eyes were closed, his long dark hair covering his neck while what appeared to be his arm was around Naruto's waist. It wasn't the whole picture that made Gaara feel uncomfortable. It was that man. When he looked at him, something below his chest- between his heart and left breast, twinged. It wasn't comfortable. In fact it felt like a dull throbbing. He _knew_ this man. But at the same time he didn't. He couldn't remember.

"His name was Sasuke." Naruto whispered.

Another twinge. Gaara looked away from the picture and backed away a bit.

Naruto turned to look at him when Gaara moved and he smiled. "This doesn't make you uncomfortable does it...? He asked quietly. "The fact that I'm..."

"Hardly." Gaara answered. It was the truth. Gaara really didn't care. Being a porn star, there was always those studios where you had to share with another department. Gay relationships weren't new to him. Of course most of them were women...but that hardly mattered. What mattered was that man in the picture. The man who was making him feel as if he was missing something very important.

Naruto's next words made his eyes widen even more. "He's in prison."

Naruto chuckled at Gaara's reaction. "He never told me why- Hell, I didn't_ want_ to know why..." he said jokingly. "But he left me...and is now serving for another few months." Naruto said with a smile. "He was convicted four years ago."

Gaara nodded numbly. The feeling in his chest was fading away and being replaced with a sort of wonder. Idly he remembered something that happened that happened only moments before.

_"What do you do?"_

_"Women."_

_"...Really...are you very...particular about that?"_

That brought a smile to Gaara's lips. He was subject to mild homosexual flirting and he didn't even realize. "I don't mind." he said suddenly. Naruto looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Gaara looked away and started walking around the apartment again. "I don't mind that you're gay."

Gay. It felt funny coming from his mouth. He smirked. What the hell was he doing here? Of course another _damn_ chuckle brought him out of his thoughts.

"Thanks." Naruto said through chuckled. "Here's your wallet." Gaara took it quickly and put it in his pocket.

"Thanks."

There was awkward silence for a few moments before Gaara found himself speaking up. "So...what are these books?"

Naruto smirked and looked around at the said books. "They're for my research paper." he said with a smile.

"Research paper?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. I take internship sessions at the hospital, and I have to write a research paper about it for my school."

Gaara blinked. Naruto chuckled. "Surprised?" Gaara said nothing.

"I major in psychiatric studies, and bone development." Naruto continued with a smile.

"Bone development?"

"Yeah- so I can do surgery on people who break their bones." Naruto said quickly. "But I think I'll drop that class after I finish this semester..."

Gaara didn't ask why. He was too busy being surprised. Naruto chuckled again. "I knew you thought I was stupid but..." he trailed off when Gaara frowned up at him.

"I'm going to go home now." Gaara stated before turning towards the door. He heard Naruto laugh again.

"Let me drive you."

"I'll be fine." Gaara said quickly before exiting the apartment building. To his annoyance, the blonde followed. "I insist." he said with a smile.

Gaara rolled his eyes and walked down the hall to the elevator. "You don't have to."

"I want to."

"I don't want you to."

For a second Naruto's smile faltered. He looked away from the red head with a small frown and his eyes dimmed a bit. He must've been remembering something, Gaara realized.

"No." Naruto said putting his head up again. His smile beamed down at the red head. "I insist."

* * *

End Chapter

NOTES

Gaara seems to have a bit of a...uh...memory problem doesn't he?...and Naruto- Why does he insist? Why does he live in such a fancy apartment? Why does he drive such a fancy car? And Why is Sasuke in jail- Oh, the suspense!

LOL- sorry for not updating in a while guys. I've been lazy, lazy, lazy and I don't have time to use the library's computer as much anymore- but THAT'S OKAY. I've updated. Please stay tune for the next chapter. Where most of your questions will be answered. And I'll be updating 'The Altar' in a while.

Review! : ) They make me feel so go0o0d.


	3. Turning Points

**Sardonic Abstinence**

* * *

"I'm getting sick and _tired _of your shit, Gaara!"

The redhead resisted the urge to roll his eyes to the ceiling. He'd taken a week off— laziness did that to you—even after he'd gotten his wallet back. He just went home and crashed in a near endless bout of slumber, sleeping off the day he had to endure with Naruto.

He saw the blonde three times in the past week of his "vacation" at the café... It was usually an exchange amicable smiles—or rather it was the blonde beaming at him all the time with those white teeth and chattering away whenever Gaara had the chance to visit the café. That had been tiring for the redhead…and weird. He'd never actually had anyone to speak to outside of his job.

But even so, the fact remained that Gaara found his wallet...and still didn't go back to work.

Until now.

"Do you know who walked in here? Do you know who freaking came in here yesterday? Stephanie _Blake_—that's who! And you know the only person who I had left here to screw her? Fuckin' Choji from the _virgins_ department —_Choji_! And where the fuck were _you_, huh? On a freaking impromptu_vacation_—!"

"Boss." A fully clothed Ino, as the redhead dully noted, interjected from her spot on chair in front of the director's desk. "He took a vacation— so what? I take vacations all the time—"

"Yeah— to scrape your fuckin' vagina, you fuckin' whorehog!"

Even Gaara couldn't laugh at that, no matter how much he hated the woman. He turned his head to look at her. Her attire was strange for a work day. A long brown skirt with a black dress shirt (that hid her cleavage) to match. Hmm. Maybe she was going to work in the Virgins department today?

"I'm sorry." the redhead said then, to his boss, because it was really the only good lie he could think of.

"Oh, you're _sorry_?" Gaara watched, with interest, as the boss's face became red. "Stephanie, fucking, _Blake_! We could have gotten our first _real_ hardcore ebony in this god forsaken department, but instead you decided to take a fucking _vacation_!"

Gaara blinked away the spit that flew into his eyes with his boss's screaming. Then he sighed. He supposed this was the part where he would get fired. The redhead ran a hand through his hair. It would probably be for the best. Being a porn star wasn't the healthiest habit anyway...All those risks...and diseases...blondes. Gaara smiled. Yeah, it would probably be better to get fired from this place now, then have, say, an _STD_, later. Hell, maybe he could find himself a job at a certain café…

Gaara was pushed out of his thoughts when the director suddenly threw something against the wall. Gaara didn't bother holding in his chuckle now. It was just so funny seeing a little fat man angry like that. What he had thrown at the wall was a small snow globe. Inside it was a woman, nude, in a fetal position. The glass didn't break against the wall, which made the old man's anger even funnier.

"What the hell is so damn funny?" he yelled, red in the face.

Gaara shrugged his shoulder a bit. Ino sucked her teeth behind him, "Gaara," she hissed. Gaara didn't smile at her despite their mutual understanding. They both knew what was going to happen next.

"You know what—?" the director started angrily.

_You're fired_, Gaara thought idly.

"I'm transferring you!"

…

….

Gaara blinked up at the old man. "You're transferring me?" he asked softly.

"Exactly." The old man said, with a smirk, glad to replace the smugly apathetic look on the redhead's face with confusion. "I'm _transferring_ you."

Gaara took a moment to digest this before he asked, "to a different department?"

"No, to a different country—of course, a different _department_ you dumbass." The director spat. "I don't know where yet. It depends on what _mood_ I'm in later on."

Gaara blinked very slowly then, because so many things were running through his head. He was never really in any specific department. His boss just put him where he wanted to, whether it was the bookworms, the blondes, the busties, or the teacher's pets. People who belonged to specific departments were doomed to be with the same kind of woman their entire career, he supposed. Maybe that was his punishment? No variety?

Gaara crossed his arms over his chest. He could deal with that.

"Imagine all the places I could send you, Gaara…." The director said lowly, obviously trying to milk some sort of horrified reaction from the redhead. "Just imagine…I could send you to BDSM."

Gaara laughed. Of course. The "big girl" department. That wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

"I could send you to _M._MILF."

Gaara had to wince a bit at that. He didn't think he'd enjoy having anything up a mother's body. Much less a _mature_ one.

"Or…"the old man said with a nasty smile, "Maybe I could send you to the BC-Boys."

The redhead had to pause at that. The bi-curious department? Then he rolled his eyes. "You might as well fire me." He said lightly.

The director laughed. "I'll figure out where you're going tomorrow. In the meantime, head to room ten. You're doing another 'home alone' clip. It's with Kandi. You know how she is—fifty minute woman." He laughed, horribly, at his own joke before wagging an index finger at the redhead. "I hope you've remembered your lines."

Gaara stared at his boss for a moment. _No_, he didn't remember his lines. But then he shrugged his shoulders, pushed himself off the wall he'd been leaning on and walked out of the room to head to his trailer.

Damn it, he thought with mild annoyance. He didn't realize how much he'd been hoping to get fired until now. He didn't know why he didn't just up and quit. It would be simple enough.

The redhead sighed when he entered his trailer. Someone had been in there recently, he realized, because it wasn't in the mess he'd left it in before. Hmm.

Sighing, he took the plain shirt he'd worn off, ready to replace it with the workman's shirt he always had to use for "home alone" takes.

He perked up an ear when he heard a knock at his door. "Come in," he called out lowly, hoping in the back of his mind that the person outside wouldn't hear him and go away.

No such luck. The door opened then, and Ino came into the trailer with an unusually timid smile on her face. Gaara raised an eyebrow. The only time Ino had ever had the audacity to come into Gaara's trailer was when he'd first started in the business three years ago. She'd wanted to introduce him the "old fashioned" way she wanted to call it. Gaara had refused her hospitality.

So he couldn't help but wonder what she wanted now, especially with that face. "Gaara…" she started softly. "I have something...something to tell you…"

Gaara paused with the sleeve he was trying to put on and gave the blonde his full attention. "What is it?" he asked when she didn't continue right away.

Ino gave him a smile and shook his head. "Maybe you should sit down for this…" she said with a small laugh.

Gaara made a big deal of looking around his trailer when he knew there were no chairs. Then he looked up at Ino and raised an eyebrow.

Ino laughed again, albeit nervously, and crossed skinny arms over her chest. "Well…" she started lightly.

Gaara narrowed his eyes. "Well?"

The blonde closed her eyes then, and took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant." She said softly.

"….Wha—"

Gaara stiffened then, and so intensely that he could swear he ripped a stitch in the shirt. Ino stared back at him with sad eyes and immediately the redhead knew that whatever else she had to say probably wasn't going to be—

"I don't know if I—"

"Are you keeping it?" Gaara cut her off then, because that was the most important question.

Ino looked at him for a long time before she nodded her head despairingly. "Yes." She said, tears glistening in her eyes. "I am keeping it…"

There was more silence, and Gaara found his eyes settling on the woman's stomach. How many times had he…?

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked, though he thought he knew the answer.

Ino shook her head. "I-I-I don't know if it's yours." She whispered then. "But I know it's someone from the department. I've already told everyone it might have been…but…" she paused then, to look pleadingly at the redhead. "I have a feeling it'll be yours." She said softly.

Gaara shut his eyes. He couldn't quite place what he was feeling right now. "Why…are you _keeping_ it?" he couldn't really think of any other question right now.

Ino looked at him with a pained expression. "I've told you before, Gaara. I've always wanted a kid—"

"But why _now_?" Gaara didn't know where the growl in his voice was coming from.

"Because the doctor—!" Ino paused then, trying to keep her frustration in check. "…because the doctor said that if I…if I aborted one more time then…" she shut her eyes. "I wouldn't be able to have kids again…"

Gaara said nothing. He didn't know if he was glaring or not, but the blonde was avoiding his eyes.

"So…" she continued. "There's a chance that the baby won't even live…" she said, tears falling freely now. "Or it…might be born with…complications—"

"Get rid of it." There. Gaara had settled into his resolve. "Get rid of it. If there's a possibility that it'll be messed up—"

"It's already been three months, Gaara!" Ino cried. "I'd be…it would be murder…" she trailed off and looked up to face the redhead at last. He had a look of dull disbelief, but she knew that he was feeling much more on the inside. "I…" she continued. "If it's yours…can you promise me that—"

"No." Gaara looked away from her quickly. "Get rid of it; it isn't even _alive_ yet—"

"I don't want to get rid of her!"

Gaara blinked. Her? Then he growled a sound so feral and frustrated that Ino widened her eyes in surprise. "Fine." He said viciously. "Keep it. But it's your own damn fault that you're still pregnant. I have no reason to help you—"

"Gaara, please—be _reasonable_—!"

"I _am_ being reasonable." He spat harshly. "You can't just come into my trailer and decide to change my life like this—"

"But, Gaara—"

"The kid could be anyone's, Yamanaka. Don't speak to me again until you know for sure it's mine." He shoved passed her then, work shirt still on, with absolutely no intentions of going back inside the studio to work.

* * *

"Wow. You look like crap."

Gaara took the cup of coffee from the blonde quickly and turned away from him. "Stop. I'm not in the mood." He said tiredly before taking a sip of his coffee. The blonde never failed to give the redhead his coffee when he came to the café anymore. Gaara didn't even have to order anymore.

"Well you're never in the mood, Gaara." The blonde said sitting in front of the redhead.

Gaara looked at him for a moment with a raised eyebrow before looking back out the window. He had to admit that he and the blonde had gotten a little closer since he visited his house. He couldn't deny that he really didn't mind Naruto casually getting comfortable around him as much as he should have. Today was a little different, though.

"I mean it, Naruto." He said lowly.

The blonde smirked at him. "You called me by my first name." he said softly. "This must be serious."

Gaara glared at him. "_Uzumaki_," he growled. "I'm not in the _mood_."

Naruto stared at him for several moments before he dropped his smile. "Tell me about it." He asked quietly.

"No." Gaara answered immediately, glaring at the blonde one last time before he turned to the window again.

Naruto frowned. "Come on," he pleaded lightly. "It's not okay to close in on yourself when you're having problems. Studies say that if a person never—"

"_Please_, Naruto." Gaara said exasperated and for once not amused with Naruto's constant allusion to his studies. "I just…" he sighed then. "I'll tell you later…" he trailed off and glared outside but he could feel Naruto's smile.

"Later…?" the blonde asked slowly. "Like…tonight? My place?"

Gaara looked at the blonde. "What?"

Naruto beamed at him. "Look at you. You've got bags under your eyes, you're super pale—I think you need company tonight."

Gaara blinked at the blonde. Then he laughed and shook his head. "Uzumaki Naruto…" he said not looking at the blonde, experimenting with the name. The he shut his eyes. "Whatever. Okay."

Naruto grabbed the hand that wasn't gripping the handle of the coffee cup and squeezed it. "Awesome." He said with a shine in his eyes.

Gaara looked at the tan hands wrapping around his own and cleared his throat. Naruto laughed at him. "Right," Naruto said slowly, pulling away. "I've got to get back to my shift anyway." He stood up from the table, and dusted off the hideous green apron he wore over his clothes. "Come back at five." He said nodded to the redhead. "It's when my shift ends."

The redhead didn't say anything to him, only nodded his head and looked back out the window. He heard Naruto laugh before footsteps indicated him going back into the kitchen.

The redhead didn't see him again for the rest of the time he stayed at the café.

* * *

"Look who's decided to join us."

Gaara shut his eyes, silently thanking the gods that it was only his boss and not Ino in the head office.

"Sorry." He lied lightly. "Something came up."

Surprisingly, the director didn't say anything right away. He only eyed the redhead with a tight frown. "Ino quit today. Do you have anything to do with that?"

Gaara swallowed carefully. "Why would I have anything to do with it?"

"Because I saw her follow you out to your trailer."

Gaara narrowed his eyes.

The director smirked at him. "So…do you know anything?"

"Ino's pregnant."

The director's face fell. "W-well she should get rid of it."

"She said she's keeping it." Gaara said quietly.

There was silence between the two men before the director smirked. "Is it yours?"

Gaara never felt an urge so strong to scream, but he let out a huffed breath instead. "No." he grounded out. "She doesn't know for sure." he corrected himself while shutting his eyes. "It could be anyone's."

The director's face tightened then. "Is that so…?" he said lightly.

Gaara scowled at him. "It could be _yours_." He spat.

The director laughed. "I never touched that woman."

_Liar_. Gaara's eyes narrowed for a long moment, and a rumble in his stomach was urging him to just throw something at this man already, but he pushed the feeling down. "Whatever, old man."

The two stared at each other for what seemed like forever, before the director clapped his hands. "It's obvious you had a lot on your mind." He said with a nasty smile. "So I've forgiven you. Besides," He said lowly. "I've already arranged for your new department."

Gaara's mouth twitched. _Shit_.

"You'll be working at—"

"Stop." The redhead said shaking his head. He ran his hand through his hair and blew out a sigh. "I quit."

The director's eyes went wide. "You _quit_? You can't _quit_!" he sputtered angrily. "I didn't get to tell you your new—"

"I don't want to know." The redhead said pushing himself off the wall. "I quit." He stated heading for the door.

The old man stood up from his desk angrily. "Yeah? And where the hell are you gonna go? This industry is all you know, Gaara—or did you forget that? Did you forget that _I_ was the one who took you in when _no_ one else did! When no one would hire a fucking _retard_—"

Gaara turned around so quickly the director jumped a few feet back. Gaara didn't know what his face looked like, but it was enough for the old man to look back at him with wide fearful eyes. Gaara pointed an angry finger at the old man without knowing what he would do with it. Then he paused.

Why the hell was he pointing? Why the hell was he so _angry_?

Like someone splashed cold water on him, Gaara stepped back and blinked. What the hell was he doing? He shook his head and made his way out of the office.

It when he was at the entrance door to the building that the director called out. "You can't quit! You're fired!"

The redhead rolled his eyes and stepped outside into the cold air before he did something else he didn't understand.

Before he came here, he had walked around the city a few times. He didn't know what he wanted to do there when he came, but now he knew. He wanted to quit. He wanted to get out of there once and for all. He had wanted to for a long time, but today…the whole thing with Ino…it was the last straw.

Gaara ran another hand through his hair. Now what? It was only a quarter to three. What was he supposed to do until then? He supposed he could go home. But it would be a hassle to go home and then to come back just an hour later.

Gaara sighed another long sigh. Too much was going on today. Maybe he could just crash at the café and wait until Naruto got out? He would look like a bum, but it was the only plan he could come up with when his head was so jumbled up with all these thoughts.

With his ill formatted plan he made his way to the café. When he arrived he saw Naruto, smiling as always, bending down to take the order of an elderly woman. When the blonde looked up and saw him, he did a double take and his smile faltered. Then his mouth twitched upwards a bit, trying to form a smile but not sure if he should.

Gaara didn't bother nodding to him. Instead he made his way to the back of the table and collapsed there. It took several minutes of shut eye before the blonde's voice whispered at him.

"You really look terrible, Gaara…" he said quietly. When the redhead looked up, he saw the blonde leaning over him. At the moment he didn't even have the energy to shoo the tall man away. Instead he grunted something incoherent before putting his head back down. Naruto was silent above him for several moments before he spoke again. "Alright, I'm going to try to leave my shift a little earlier, alright?" he said. Now Gaara could hear his voice a little closer to his ear. "Don't move, alright?"

If they weren't already closed, Gaara would have rolled his eyes. He heard Naruto's footsteps walking away and inwardly sighed. He didn't know why he was suddenly so tired. Well, he knew, per _se_, but he didn't know why today's events were affecting his body so much. Of course it wasn't everyday you learned you were the possible father of the child to a woman you'd quite nearly despised for the past few years. And it wasn't everyday that an anger so deep inside you rumbled up out of nowhere.

Gaara frowned inwardly. He'd never been angry the way he was with the director before. Well… at least he couldn't remember ever being angry…Gaara sighed. Whatever. He couldn't continue to think about it. He had to do what he always did when something bothered him. Let things pass him by, relax, and sleep. And he was so _tired_…the rest would do him well.

"Gaara."

Said redhead blinked his eyes open. He was met with darkness. Blinking into it tiredly, he finally looked up from the crook of his arms. Naruto was leaning over him again only without the apron. He wore a look of concern, Gaara supposed, if the way his eyebrows furrowed was any indication.

"Hi." The redhead said lamely.

Naruto frowned at him. "What the hell happened, Gaara?"

Gaara shut his eyes. He opened them again several moments later and looked up at the blonde. "I quit today."

Naruto blinked down at him. Then he laughed unsurely. "That's…good?"

Gaara smiled despite himself. "Yeah, it's good." He stood up from his spot on the table then, and wiped the crud that formed in his eyes. "How long have I been out?"

The blonde smiled at him a gestured towards outside. It was getting dark. "It's already five." He said. "I was going to leave a little earlier, but when I came back out you were sound asleep." He smirked down at the redhead.

Gaara glared up at him.

"Ha ha, now there's the Gaara I know…" he said smiling down at the redhead.

Gaara shook his head, releasing the glare he had on Naruto. "Whatever. Let's go." He made his way to the doors of the café, noticing idly that he felt a lot better now. Maybe all he had needed was a bit of sleep.

When they stepped outside, Naruto took the lead and led them to his car. It looked strangely dark and luminous in the night time, Gaara thought as they approached it. If possible, it seemed even more sophisticatedly luxurious—like the bat mobile or something.

Naruto surprised the redhead by opening the door for him. Gaara glared at the blonde before he stepped inside the car and waited for the idiot to get into the car himself. When Naruto did, he started the car and pulled out of the parking spot with ease.

"So," he started as they drove down the road. "Are you going to tell me what happened today?"

Gaara shut his eyes. "I rather not talk about it." He didn't have to look at the blonde to see his frown.

"Come on, Gaara. Tell me. You looked really…" the redhead heard him pause, and he turned to look at him. Naruto wasn't looking at him; he was looking ahead at the road with a small thoughtful frown, "you looked really bad today, Gaara."

Gaara blinked and looked away from the blonde. "I didn't look that bad…" he mumbled lamely.

Naruto laughed. "Uh, yeah you did. Did someone…kick your puppy or something?"

"Or something." Gaara replied lightly. He saw Naruto's hands shuffle a bit on the wheel.

"Hmm." He said quietly. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. It'll leave more time for us to have fun at my apartment." He smiled then, and Gaara didn't have to look to see it.

Gaara blinked. He'd pretty much followed the motions of the day without really thinking about it. And it was only now that the facts of the moment were hitting him. He was going to Naruto's house. Gaara's eyes widened fractionally. He was going to _Naruto's_ house. The redhead inclined his towards the blonde for a moment. Why the hell was he going to this man's house? He contemplated asking the blonde, but he decided against it when he remembered that he'd practically walked into Naruto's invitation to hang with him this evening. Gaara shut his eyes despairingly. He'd been so desperate for the blonde to go away that he'd accepted this stupid invitation.

But of course…there was that tugging in the back of Gaara's head that told him he really didn't want to be alone on this night. Gaara sighed. He also remembered promising Naruto that he'd tell him what happened. At the thought of today's events the redhead tightened a hold of the arms he'd crossed.

Gods, it made him so angry. He was a—well, he didn't know for sure yet, but there was a possibility that he would become a…a…

The redhead shivered lightly. What the hell was he going to do when—if—Ino came to him a few months from now asking for a paternity test. Gaara leaned his head against the car chair's head rest and let another despairing sigh. Damn it, he thought.

"There goes that look again," Naruto said, easing the redhead out of his thoughts.

Gaara didn't roll his eyes or glare at him. He only shook his head silently and let the comment pass. He was so…_screwed_, wasn't he? And he was fired too. What the hell was he going to do for money? The mysterious checks he'd been getting from god knew who wouldn't be enough for the duplex he was living in.

Gaara uncrossed his arms and put his face in hands for a moment. What the hell was he going to do?

"Gaara." The blonde called lightly.

Gaara didn't look up.

"Talk to me."

Gaara sighed into his hands and looked up. "Later." He said softly. He supposed it wouldn't be a big deal to tell Naruto. He couldn't say the blonde was a stranger anymore. He was, in a sad way, the only person Gaara had to talk to. He'd never made any friends since he left the hospital, and frankly, he didn't try.

The rest of the time in the car passed in silence. Gaara was grateful for that, and he allowed himself a little shut eye. He'd forgotten how close to the café Naruto's apartment was, because in no time at all, the blonde was parking in front of the familiar tall building. Gaara wondered how he could do that—park right in front of a building like that. He decided not to ask, and stepped out of the car when Naruto did.

Naruto smiled at him as they walked towards the entrance and the redhead looked away with a frown. They made their way to the elevator, and this time, when it opened, people didn't come out and push Gaara to the side like last time. They stepped into the elevator, and again the redhead was baffled by the flower vase in the corner, and the chandelier lights.

"You must be pretty top-notch if you live in a place like this…"he mumbled.

Naruto turned to face him. "What was that?"

Gaara turned away. "Nothing."

They arrived at Naruto's floor then, they walked out of the elevator. When they reached the blonde's apartment, he opened it quickly, and gestured for the redhead to step inside before him. Gaara glared at this, but stepped inside none-the-less.

Again, he found himself eyeing his surroundings with widened eyes. If he thought there were too many books scattered everywhere before…

Gaara shook his head. There were three times as many books all over the place now, and papers all over the place.

"Don't mind the mess." The blonde said as he lay his coat on a nearby couch. He held out a hand to get Gaara's coat. Gaara hesitated before he gave it to him. Naruto smirked at him, and took Gaara's coat to another room. "This place isn't dirty," the blonde continued, "just messy."

Gaara put his hands into his pockets. When he looked around, he realized the picture of the man kissing Naruto was on a shelf on the other side of the room. He narrowed his eyes at it. "Why is your house so messy anyway…" he asked idly.

He heard shuffling from whatever room Naruto disappeared into. "I told you before," he called. "The university asks a lot of me." He came back into the room then. "And this week I had a test." He finished.

Gaara eyes him bored eyes. "What university?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Ah, you know. It doesn't really matter the specific university, especially when your school partners with almost every school in the city."

Gaara raised an eyebrow. "Well what school did you get accepted to?"

Naruto laughed. "University of Konohakagure."

Gaara looked at him for a long time. "You got accepted into the number one school in the country." It wasn't a question.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders and laughed. "Why do you look so skeptical?"

He has the audacity to look sheepish, Gaara thought to himself before he shook his head and continued to look around the house. He really couldn't pay that much attention to it though. The name Konohakagure rung in his head. He never looked it up before, but for some reason he knew it existed, and he knew it was the best. He also felt connected to it somehow. But he couldn't remember how.

"Why don't you sit?" he heard Naruto say. Then the blonde fell onto the couch behind him. Gaara raised an eyebrow when he saw that no dust particles flew out of the couch when he did. Finally he shrugged and took a seat beside the blonde.

"Not so hard now, is it?" Naruto said. Gaara didn't have to turn to see the smile on his lips. "So…about what happened today—"

"How'd you get into Konohakagure?"

The blonde responded with a laugh. "I took the admissions tests, got a high score, and was accepted." He replied, amused.

Gaara nodded idly, not really caring for the answer. It was just that the name was still ringing in his head, and he couldn't remember from where he heard it before. He couldn't remember how it related to his life.

"Gaara?"

Gaara looked quickly, "What?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at him "You look like you're thinking hard about something…"

Gaara shook his head. "It's nothing, T-tell me more about yourself." The redhead only said it to distract the blonde, but he regretted it a moment later when he saw Naruto's smile.

"I'll tell you what," he started. "I answer one of your questions….and you answer one of mine. How's that?"

Gaara scoffed softly and shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever."

"Good. It's my turn to ask."

"Wha—"

"Why'd you look the way you did today?"

Gaara shut his eyes. "I hardly feel comfortable talking to a total stranger." He replied lowly.

Naruto had the audacity to look genuinely offended for a moment. Then he chuckled. "So you go to stranger's houses like this often? What kind of person would do that…I wonder…" he trailed off and put a hand casually onto the armrest.

Gaara glared at him lazily before shaking his head. "If you must know…" he started slowly. "There's this girl…"

"Well now. This sounds interesting."

Gaara tried to smile jokingly, but failed. "She…says that I might be…" he looked up to face Naruto then. "that I might be the father of her kid."

The smile that had been on Naruto's face instantly dropped. "What?"

Gaara did laugh then. "Yeah…", but the laugh died off tragically towards the end.

"You aren't going to cry are you?"

Gaara turned to the blonde with a glare. "A situation like this hardly deserves tears." The redhead said shaking his head.

Naruto laughed lightly before he put a hand on Gaara's back. "I would offer my congratulations, but I don't think you really want this kid." He said lightly.

Gaara found the warm hand on his back oddly comforting. He relaxed. "Whatever."

"If the kid's yours…are you going to…you know…take care of it?"

The redhead shrugged his shoulders. "Let's just hope it's not mine."

"Who's the mother?"

"Yamanaka."

"Does she…you know…work in that place?"

Gaara sighed. "She quit today." He leaned into the back of the couch then, hardly noticing that he was crushing Naruto's hand and the blonde was moving closer.

"Were you guy's friends?"

"No." Gaara replied with a lazy shake of his head.

"So it wasn't like…a friendly get together gone to far."

"The only time she and I ever got "together" was in front of the camera. I don't know how she handles herself outside of work." Gaara sighed when Naruto began to rub circles on his back. "She even said that it might be born with complications because of how many times she aborted."

"Doesn't the industry give its workers some sort of…insurance benefits when stuff like this happens?"

Gaara shrugged his shoulders. "I wouldn't know. I never thought to look up things like that when I left the hospital."

"Hospital? You were in the hospital?"

Gaara froze. "I—" then he shook his head. "It's nothing."

"No, tell me." Naruto said, moving closer still.

No." Gaara said with another shake of his head. It doesn't—"

"Tell me, Gaara—"

Gaara sat up straight and glared at him. "How many questions have you asked already?" he asked angrily. He suddenly took noticed to how close he and the blonde were, and made a move to move away, but Naruto closed a hand on his arm. Gaara growled at him. "What are y—"

"Twelve," the blonde said.

Gaara blinked. "What?"

"I asked twelve questions." He said again. "Now you can ask twelve too."

Gaara put in a look of disbelief. He tried again to pull away from the blonde, but Naruto held tight. Gaara didn't want to ask how Naruto knew that he'd asked twelve questions, so instead he relaxed, but moved further away from Naruto on the couch. "Are you this comfortable with every straight guy you meet." He asked looking away.

That chuckle. "Only the one's I like.", the blonde replied softly, and finally, he let go of Gaara. Instead of standing up and bolting out of the apartment like he'd wanted to, Gaara stayed, but he still didn't look at Naruto.

"You don't even know me." He whispered.

There was a movement, and Gaara thought the blonde shrugged.

Gaara closed his eyes. "How did you know that you asked twelve questions?" he didn't really know what he should ask the blonde, especially since he had twelve chances. He figured he'd use them all until he figured something good to ask.

"I brain keeps track of things like that." The blonde responded lightly.

Gaara turned to him. "Like—without your consent, or something?"

Naruto smiled. "Not without consent. More like…unconsciously."

"Oh." Gaara replied lamely. He looked around the messy room then, and narrowed his eyes at the pile of papers. "What was your last paper about…?" he asked softly.

"The way modern science has changed the definitions behind effects of psychochemistry in women." Naruto said, just as softly.

Gaara turned to him and raised an eyebrow. Naruto smiled at him. The redhead turned away again and continued to look around the room.

"How'd you get to live in a fancy place like this?" he asked.

Another laugh. "My grandmother's pretty rich."

_Ah_, Gaara thought idly. "What's your grandmother like?"

"Dangerous." Another laugh.

Gaara turned to face Naruto with a raised eyebrow. "How so?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "She just is." He said, laying one elbow on the couch so he could look more casual.

Gaara squinted his eyes at him for a few more moments before he looked away again. "When did you get accepted to Hertfordshire?"

"Four years ago."

Gaara turned to him. "You're a senior?"

"There's no such thing as "senior" in Konohakagure." The blonde said shaking his head with mock sadness. "That title gets you nowhere."

"Do you…like it?"

"What? School?" a laugh. "I suppose."

Gaara sighed and continued to look around the room. He was getting bored now. He wondered why he agreed to come here in the first place. "Did your grandmother buy you that car?" he asked absentmindedly.

For the first time, the blonde didn't answer with a laugh. "No."

Gaara turned to look at him. Naruto was looking ahead, with a ghost of a smile on his face, as if there had been one there before but now it went away.

"Who did?" Gaara asked.

The blonde brought his hands together and turned away from Gaara completely. "It was Sasuke's."

Gaara narrowed his eyes. Sasuke? Then his eyes fell on the picture. Oh. There was silence between the two for a moment, but then Gaara pressed on. "Sasuke…what was he like?" he asked soflty.

Naruto turned to him quickly, sat up straight and smiled. "I'd love to answer that," he started, "but you've used up your twelve questions."

Gaara blinked. "What?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders playfully. "It's the truth. Now," he said turning to face the redhead fully. "It's my turn. We'll ask one at a time from now on."

"But—"

Naruto held up a hand to interrupt him. "It's my turn, Gaara." He said chastisingly. Then he smiled at the redhead. Gaara glared at him. "So, Gaara. Do you have a boyfriend?"

Gaara couldn't believe he was walking with this idiot today. It was a Saturday morning, for Pete's sake. He was usually asleep at this time, especially since he didn't have a job anymore, but Naruto had insisted that the date had to be today.

Yes, he said date. He'd lost a bet with the blonde yesterday, and…needless to say it was either the date, or something even more embarrassin. Said blonde was chattering away noisily beside him, talking about God knew what. They'd been walking for at least ten minutes, but Naruto had insisted they walked because "finding a parking spot [was] _impossible_" in the city.

"…—hell, maybe you'll find a job in this place." The blonde was saying. "But I think I'd much rather have you working at my café." He finished, nudging Gaara a bit.

Gaara let himself be nudged and rolled his eyes.

"Gaara, are you even listening to me?"

"No." he said bluntly.

The blonde laughed at him. "Ah, shucks. I made a few pretty good jokes during that rant to."

Gaara laughed, because the blonde sounded genuinely disappointed.

"Here we are."

Gaara stopped walking, and stared up at the place, but Naruto dragged him inside before he could completely read the sign.

They stepped into a large restaurant looking place, much fancier than the coffee shop Naruto worked in. There were people being waited at tables and there was a large bar. Gaara narrowed his eyes when Naruto pulled them towards the bar.

"I figured you wouldn't appreciate it if I took you to a proper dinner-date, so I decided to take you to the best impromptu burger place in the city."

They took a seat in front of the bar, and Naruto began looking around for a bartender. Gaara took the time to really take in his surroundings. The place was too fancy for his taste. He enjoyed the lazy sophistication of _Quelquefois_. This place screamed too much effort.

"Temari!" Naruto yelled from beside him, and Gaara winced. Why the hell did this guy have to be so loud. A women, blonde, the redhead noted with a small twitch, walked towards them. She was beautiful, he supposed. She didn't look like the women he worked—er—used to work with. She walked up to Naruto with a smirk on her face. "Well, well, well," she started, completely ignoring Gaara. "When was the last time you decided to drop by?"

Naruto chuckled at her and batted his eyelashes, flirting the way he always was. "Too long." He answered. "I have a date."

Temari laughed. "really, now," she said turning to face Gaara. "I didn't know you—" The she stopped. And then she stared. Gaara stared back at her with a raised eyebrow. "I-I-I didn't—" the women blinked again. "I—"

Naruto laughed besides her. "What's up, Tem? He's cuter than Sasuke, isn't he?"

Gaara punched the blonde on the shoulder. Why was he acting as if they were—

"You two…" Temari started slowly, "a-are together?"

Another laugh from the blonde, and a glare from the redhead. "Nope." He chirped.

The woman only continued to stare at Gaara. Naruto waved a hand in her face. "Temariii," he sang.

The woman blinked and looked at the blonde as if she'd forgotten where she was. "I—" she shook her head. "Can I take your order?"

Naruto smiled at her. "The usual. For me and him."

"R-right." She nodded her head quickly, and walked away, but not before taking one last look at Gaara.

"I think she likes you." Naruto said, turning to smile at Gaara with a hand on his chin.

Gaara didn't look at him. Instead he watched the women disappear behind a flap in the bar, then come back out with a brown haired man, slightly muscular, and point at him.

"Wow." Naruto said lightly. "She didn't showcase Sasuke like that when I brought him here."

Gaara wasn't paying attention. "Why does she keep staring me…" Gaara mumbled uncomfortably.

Naruto turned to him with another smile. "It's not often a young handsome guy such as yourself enters such a place." He gestured around the restaurant. Indeed, there were mostly older men here. "Although I admit it is kind of weird…She's got a boyfriend." Naruto laughed then.

Gaara didn't share the humor. Instead continued to look at the corner where the women—Temari, was it?—was speaking to that brown haired man in a tight huddle.

Gaara had a feeling the blonde woman wasn't just "showcasing" him, but that wasn't what bothered him. What bothered him was another feeling.

The feeling that he had seen this woman before.

* * *

End of chapter

Author's Notes

_7,700 words!_

Haha. Well this update only took a couple of years, ; ). Now let's see what I can do about Virgin Flesh~

Read & Review, and curse me for taking so long. I deserve it, haha

Later~


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